The transitional board meeting will take place on Monday, October 22 at 7 pm at the Steinhagen’s home, 304 Pheasant Hill in the upstairs assembly room. This is when the new board officially transitions into their role and where outgoing members pass the proverbial batton. Many thanks to outgoing board members Casey Burley, David Fuller, & Michelle Steinhagen for their time and attention volunteering to make QCHOA the best it can be!
Category Archives: Board Related
Annual Meeting Summary
This year’s Annual Meeting was one of the highest attended since the completion of Phase II, where 70% of the Membership was represented, either in person or by proxy. A new Board was voted in and many motions were considered.
- The Board Officers for the 2015/2016 term are
- Shana Nalls, President
- Casey Berley, Vice President
- Rhonda Smith, Treasurer
- Brad Peters, Secretary
- Architectural Review Committee
- David Hoye, Chairman
- David Fuller
- Ken Daulong
- The treasurer’s report is posted below under Budget 2015/2016.
- President’s Report
- Bob Steinhagen, outgoing president, spoke about the many accomplishments of the Board, which include:
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- Improved communications with homeowners including a new website, the newsletters, and email correspondence for important matters.
- Amending the governing documents of the HOA, which include the CC&Rs & Bylaws to bring the Association into compliance with new state standards, through a Ballot initiative that the Board created & developed, as well as many new policies, most of which were state mandated.
- Improvements to the neighborhood streets, which include the opportunity for homeowners to consider a Special Assessment for preventative maintenance and major repairs to the front entrance of the development.
- The decision to place a mailbox at the front entrance of the neighborhood for HOA related matters, which included a detailed explanation of the option between a decorative metal mailbox, which, while it would not conform to neighborhood standards, would be more cost effective verses a brick mailbox, where homeowners voted, via a poll posted on the HOA website, for the brick mailbox.
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- Mr. Steinhagen also thanked the current board, Vice President, Brad Peters, Treasurer, Shana Nalls, Secretary, Glenna Brown, and the ARC, Ken Daulong, David Fuller, & David Hoye, for their tireless support to help reinvigorate homeowners confidence in the Board through their tireless and dedicated efforts.
- Bob Steinhagen, outgoing president, spoke about the many accomplishments of the Board, which include:
- A Motion to post a “No Soliciting” sign at the front entrance to the neighborhood passed, with the understanding that neighborhood school children may still go door to door to raise funds for their schools.
- Motion to remove the two stop signs on Pheasant Hill failed by just four votes.
- A Motion to sell the lot that currently is the park in the community and use the proceeds to repair the road near the entrance of Quail Creek failed overwhelmingly, with just six votes in favor of the motion.
- A Motion to rename Mockingbird Hill Lane to Clint Packer Way was withdrawn.
- A Motion for the Association to, on January 1, 2016, levy a Special Assessment of $825.00 for neighborhood street repairs and preventative maintenance, which shall either be due in full on the 31st of the same month or may be paid in up to three annual installments of not less than $275.00, where each installment comes due on the 31st of January of the installment year passed overwhelmingly (93%), with just three votes against the motion.
UPDATE: Board Approves Front Entrance Street Repairs
Tonight, the Board voted by unanimous consent to approve a proposal by Midway Sealcoating & Striping to remove and replace a total of 1,250 square feet of street that runs along both sides of the median at the entrance of our development. The repairs will be made in two phases, to keep open one lane for ingress & egress.
The dates of construction will likely be late August or early September, but that information will be posted on this website once we are provided notice.
The cost for these repairs is $15,000, where a little over $11,000 of our $22,000 capital reserves will be used in addition to $4,000 that was budgeted this year for street repairs.
It should be noted that these repairs are not patches, but entire sections. Two of the patches that were installed two years ago and are now beginning to falter, will be removed as part of this repair.
Not included in this repair is the third large-patched section that runs farthest away from the entrance, which is estimated to cost another $6 to 8 thousand. The Board opted against including this section at this time because to do so would deplete our capital reserves to a dangerous level, should a costly emergency occur.
Once this, the most immediate concern, which impacts all homeowners, is addressed, the issue of preventative measures (primarily filling in cracks along most all of the streets) will be tackled.
The total cost for the proposed preventative repairs is $25, 442.40, plus another $6 to $8 thousand to finish the front entrance repair.
It is likely that either a special assessment of between $350 to $500 or a $100 increase to the annual assessment will be proposed during the October 6 Annual Membership Meeting, to meet these needs. This gives homeowners the right to consider and propose options and possible decide how we move forward.
Amended Governing Documents Are Now Valid & Enforceable
The amended governing documents that were approved by vote of the Homeowners were recorded with the Rockwall County today, which means that they are now valid & enforceable. Homeowners will be receiving paper copies of these documents within sixty (60) days.
Homeowners Approve Amendments to CC&Rs & Bylaws!!!
It’s official! The Homeowners have spoken!
During tonight’s Board meeting, the votes in the Ballot Initiative were tallied and recorded resulting in at least sixty-seven percent (67%) of all homeowners in Quail Creek approving all amendments to the CC&Rs (Initiative #1) except for Amendments to Articles 4.8b, 4.8h, & 8.2. Seventy-one percent (71%) of homeowners also approved the newly amended Bylaws (Initiative #2). The amendment loosening the garbage can restriction (Initiative #3A) passed with sixty-nine percent (69%) support and the amendment to loosen the restriction on signs (Initiative 3B) also passed, capturing seventy-five percent (75%).
However, sixty-seven percent (67%) of homeowners rejected the amendment loosening the trailer restriction (Initiative #3C), where it garnered just thirty-three percent (33%), or one-third(1/3) homeowner support. Of the sixty-seven percent, twenty-seven percent (27%) voted to tighten the restriction with the rest preferring to keep the restriction as is. What is clear from the vote is that the overwhelming majority of homeowners do not support the storage of trailers in Quail Creek.
State law dictates that for any amendment to a declaration to pass it must have 67% approval of all homeowners (not those who vote, but all homeowners). Therefore, anyone that did not submit a ballot effectively voted to reject the amendments being proposed.
Remarkably, sixty-one out of the sixty-nine eligible members of the Association participated in this initiative including eleven of the twelve homeowners in Phase 1!
As part of the effort to protect and ensure the integrity of the process to tally the vote, all ballots were scanned & digitized. Only the voter signature pages (that include the homeowner’s name and ballot ID number) will be kept from distribution (both the digital files & hard copies of these signature pages will be kept on file indefinitely).
The Board hopes to have the revised CC&Rs & Bylaws recorded with Rockwall County by the end of next week, which will make the instruments official. Copies of the newly amended CC&Rs & Bylaws will be distributed to Homeowners soon. They will also be made available to homeowners on the “HOA Records” page on the HOA website.
“Recount of Votes Policy” Adopted in Advance of Ballot Initiative Vote Tally
A Recount of Votes Policy was adopted during Tuesday’s regular Board meeting to help ensure that the Association will not be responsible for the costs associated with such a request. The policy mirrors Texas Property Code Section 209.0057(b), which requires any party making the request to pay all costs associated with a recount unless the recount changes the results of a vote, wherein the Association would then be responsible to reimburse the requesting party/parties.
This comes on the heels of a frivolous open-records request by a homeowner who was demanding that the Association (fellow homeowners) foot the bill for the time and materials invested for “all” records in the Association’s possession. However, just days before the request the Board adopted the Records Reproduction & Copying Policy in accordance with Texas Property Code requirements, which would have cost homeowners several hundreds of dollars, had the policy not been in place. After standing it’s ground to require payment from the homeowner in accordance with the policy and after a final threat of legal action by the homeowner against the Association, the Board closed the matter when the homeowner in question failed to respond within 30 days to a certified letter demanding prepayment.
The vote tally will occur during an open meeting of the Board where homeowners may come and observe. The process to tally the ballots was reviewed during Tuesday’s Board meeting to help ensure that the process will be open and transparent to help alleviate the need for any homeowner to question the results.
10% Annual Assessment Increase Approved for 2015
By unanimous consent of the Board, a ten percent (10%) increase in the Annual Assessment was approved during December 2, 2014, Regular Meeting of the Board. This is an increase of $29 bringing next years annual dues up from $290 to $319. While the Association runs on a fiscal calendar from October through September and while homeowners are billed for the Annual Assessment in June, the Assessment actually begins on January 1, which is the Board is required to vote in December.
Article 4.3(b) grants the Board the sole and exclusive authority to increase the annual assessment each year by as much as 10% over the preceding year’s annual assessment. Any increase over and above that increase must be by expressed approval by the Members in writing.
Board Adopts New Fine & Enforcement Policy
By unanimous consent, the Board adopted the first Fine and Enforcement Policy. This policy establishes the guidelines for the Board when enforcing the CC&Rs against homeowners who are out of compliance as well as the rights granted to homeowners under the law.
Article 7.15(a) of the CC&Rs establishes that fines assessed may not exceed the then in effect annual assessment, per violation. For homeowners, this means that beginning January 1, 2015, the maximum that any homeowner may be fined is $319 per violation, which is equal to the 2015 annual assessment. This does little to motive those who wish to disregard the restrictions and pay the penalty instead. This is why, the policy establishes that once the violator has reached the maximum allowable fine amount based on the set timetable, the immediate next step is for the Board to seek injunctive relief.
If successful, the non-compliant homeowner shall be accountable to the court from that point forward, for as long as they own the property. Therefore, the decision for the Board to file with the court now becomes the non-compliant homeowner’s to bear. Pursuant to the law, the homeowner will also be required to pay all legal costs associated with the case.
NOTE: Beginning January 1, 2012, the Texas Legislature enacted new laws governing HOAs in the Texas property Code, which requires all HOAs to adopt a Fine & Enforcement policy, among others. The Bylaws, under article 3.04, grant the Board the authority to adopt, publish and enforce rules and regulations (policies). The law firm of Horton & Archibald provided the Board with a set of draft-ready policies for the Board to adopt, which is the template that was used for this policy.
Board Meetings Set for 1st Tuesdays of the Month
By unanimous consent, the Board established a regular meeting date for the 1st Tuesday of the Month at 6PM. These Regular Board Meetings will take place at the Steinhagen’s home located at 304 Pheasant Hill Drive. Notice to members will continue via email to members and a sign located at the entrance of the neighborhood at least 72 hours before the start of the meeting, as required by law. This regular schedule makes it easier for the Directors to plan their calendar, as well as members who wish to be attend or be added to the agenda to address the Board. All meetings are open to members and there’s always plenty of room for everyone. Beer and soft drinks are usually available as well! If you’ve never attended a Board meeting this is a great way to meet some of your neighbors while staying informed about what’s going on in Quail Creek.
We hope to see you at our next meeting!
Notable Changes to Texas Property Code
The 2011 Texas Legislature enacted major changes to the Texas Property Code, especially as it relates to HOA’s. These changes, most of which went into effect on January 1, 2012, have had a dramatic impact on Quail Creek and the manner in which we are governed. These changes have been highlighted in the attached document.
